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Roman Style : al-Malik al-Salih
This coin struck me as curious - copying 4th century Roman style portraits in the 12th century. Al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ, was the Zengid emir...

sulla80
May 3, 202510 min read


Pompey the Great
Head of Pompey the Great, 1st century AD, Marble, 41 cm tall, from the Tomb of the Licinii, Via Salaria, currently at the Ny Carlsberg...

sulla80
Apr 26, 20257 min read


Revolt of Aristonikos (133–129 BCE)
In 133 BCE, King Attalos III of Pergamum died without an heir and bequeathed his entire kingdom to Rome. Aristonikos, who claimed to be an illegitimate son of Attalos’ father King Eumenes II, rose to challenge Rome’s takeover. Aristonikos took the dynastic name Eumenes III, presenting himself as the rightful king and rallying support for his cause.

sulla80
Apr 18, 202511 min read


Land of Sheba
The Queen of Sheba: according to the biblical narrative (2 Chronicles 9:1-12; 1 Kings 10:1-13), the Queen of Sheba learns of King Solomon...

sulla80
Apr 17, 20254 min read


Ancient Phoenicia: Dor
Dora, also known as Dor, was an ancient port city on the Phoenician coast (modern Israel), situated north of Caesarea Maritima. It was a...

sulla80
Apr 2, 20257 min read


Quattuorviri Monetales
Suetonius describes how Julius Caesar broke all norms with his return to Rome in 46 BC, after defeating the Pompeians in North Africa. ...

sulla80
Mar 27, 20255 min read


The Founding of Lanuvium
While Lavinium was building, the following omens are said to have appeared to the Trojans. When a fire broke out spontaneously in the ...

sulla80
Mar 21, 20254 min read


Cornelius-Lentulus
Circa 50 BCE, Marcellinus struck coins honoring his ancestor, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, victor over Viridomarus and conqueror of Syracuse..

sulla80
Mar 15, 202510 min read


A bird in the hand
Antiochus III was defeated by the Romans in two successive defeats, first at Thermopylae and afterward in Magensia and forced to accept ...

sulla80
Mar 7, 20253 min read


A Stater from Kroton
Kroton (aka Croton, which today is modern Crotone in Calabria, Italy) was founded around 710 BC by Achaean Greek settlers, according ...

sulla80
Mar 1, 202514 min read


Sulla Relinquishes the Dictatorship
Juno-Sospita-Antefix (Latium, c.500-480 BC), Altes Museum, Berlin, Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, used under CC BY 2.0...

sulla80
Feb 22, 20256 min read


Imitative Denarius of the Eravisci
The Eravisci were a Celtic tribe that settled in the region later known as Pannonia, corresponding broadly to parts of modern-day...

sulla80
Feb 20, 20252 min read


Italy and Rome: The World Turned Upside Down
Rome turned against its allies and against itself, redefining the Roman city-state, and paving the way for future upheavals...

sulla80
Feb 15, 202514 min read


The Syrian Goddess: Atargatis
Hierapolis, located within Cyrrhestica, northern Syria, was a major religious center dedicated to Atargatis, the "Syrian Goddess"...

sulla80
Jan 27, 20256 min read


Sextus Pompey
The Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great ended with Pompey's assassination shortly after his defeat...

sulla80
Jan 25, 20258 min read


Petillius and the Capitoline Temple
There is little known about the moneyer of today's coin of interest, Petillius Capitolinus, one of the last moneyers to strike independent..

sulla80
Jan 15, 20258 min read


Galba : First of Four Emperors in 69 AD
Dionysos leading the Horae (Seasons), marble, Roman 1st century AD ( image public domain ) Today's coins of interest are two...

sulla80
Jan 15, 20254 min read


Sulla Portrait Coin
In Melville's Moby Dick, Captain Ahab stands in his boat, harpoon in hand, and in the final moments of his chase of the great white whale...

sulla80
Jan 11, 20254 min read


Saeculum Frugiferum
Clodius Albinus (c. 150–197 CE) was a Roman general and politician who was briefly emperor during the tumultuous Year of Five Emperors...

sulla80
Jan 10, 20253 min read


A Crown of Deified Emperors
Kilikarch wearing a crown of busts, from the Adana Museum. Photo by E. Borgia c. 2018. The Kilikarchia was a provincial magistracy in the Roman province of Cilicia during the mid-2nd to mid-3rd century AD, as evidenced by epigraphic and numismatic sources. Today's coin from Cilicia is one of those numismatic sources from Tarsus, Cilicia issued in the name of Elagabalus. This is a very rare Roman Provincial coin, with about 10 known, that refers to the administration of the

sulla80
Jan 2, 20255 min read
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